Using The Parent App

Last Updated: Sep 28, 2016 01:36PM EDT

Hi there! Welcome to Tadpoles - we're so glad to have you on board! In an effort to keep you in the loop at all times, we've developed an app for parents. It's available for both Apple and Android and will help you to share important information with teachers and create an awesome record of all the great things your kiddo is learning at school. Here's the skinny...

For more information about the app and parent website, and for steps to sign up for an account, click here.

Entering your child's drop-off information:

In recent versions of the app, we've created a way for you to enter pertinent information about your child's morning right from your smartphone. Share that important data with teachers via the app & avoid having to scribble things down on paper with a kiddo on your hip. We like to call that a win/win. Let's jump in! :)

Once you log into the app, you'll be dropped off at an opening page that looks like this.

Tapping the, "Dropoff Notes" button on the far left will bring you to a screen where you're able to enter a variety of different items for teachers' use throughout the day. Tapping the, "Touch to add" button next to any item will open a new window where you'll be able to enter details about your child's night/morning. These details will be sent directly to the teacher's app to inform the child's schedule for the day.

Please note - If you do not see, "Touch to add" and instead see fields that say, "No entry" that would indicate that you had missed the entry window. We lock the screen for entries after your child has been signed into school for 20 minutes.

Quick tip - if your keyboard gets propped up from entering a note, just click, "Return" to tuck it down!

Another field you have available to you is, "Notes." Here, you're able to enter a few handy items. Select who should be contacted today (should the teacher need to reach out to a parent), enter your planned pickup time, give details about medications or just leave a general note.

As soon as you enter an item, it uploads and becomes available to the teacher on their classroom iPad/iPod. If you aren't able to enter any items on this screen, that would indicate that your window for entry had timed out. Your entry window begins when you pick your child up from school in the evening and lasts until about 20 minutes after you drop your child off at school in the morning.

Marking your child as out sick/on vacation:

Within the parent app, you have the ability to inform the school that your child will be either out sick or out on vacation today. As soon as you enter the information, we'll send it right up to the school so they know what's going on!

In the top right corner, click, "Mark Absent." If you don't see that option, that would mean that your child is already signed into school today. It's hard to be absent when you're already at school! :)

From the menu on the bottom, select if your kiddo is on vacation or out sick.

If your kiddo is out sick, you'll have the option to put in the details of their illness. If you're headed on vacation, the app will ask for the child's return date.

Once you enter the information, we'll send it right to the school so they know not to expect you & your little one today.

Viewing historical photos & daily reports:

The app also serves as a wonderful record of all the awesome things your child is learning at school. To look backwards at their time as a tadpole, open the app & click the memories button. The look of this page can vary depending on what you were last doing there.

If your screen looks like the one on the right, click the month box in the top right corner. That will bring you back to the filter screen (the darker screen on the left) where you can choose which of your children you'd like to view, for which month. Also, make note of the various options along the bottom where you can choose to view just one specific kind of communication, like photos for example.